A franchise-altering three-team blockbuster was struck, as the Dodgers acquired Mookie Betts and David Price, the Twins got Kenta Maeda, and the Red Sox received Alex Verdugo and Brusdar Graterol. But wait, there’s more! The Angels are expected to acquire Joc Pederson, the Giants signed Wilmer Flores, and the Mets’ sale to Steve Cohen is in jeopardy! MLBTR’s Jeff Todd runs through a wild day for the MLB hot stove in today’s video.
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Mookie was amazing. But I’m sorry, you aren’t Mike Trout. I’m a die hard Sox fan and I’m kinda happy they didn’t budge from the $300M. Bring on Verdugo and Brusard with that bowling ball 100MPH sinker. GO SOX!
No one is Mike Trout, but Mookie is right there at or near the top of Tier 2.
That being said I’m thrilled about Price, and I think it’s a lot to give up for a rental (Mookie). Verdugo is a damn good ball player, and Meadea is so cheap to trade him is a bad move. Red Sox got the better end of this one
Sorry all meant to say “not thrilled “
How is getting the better end of it giving up the second best player in baseball for nothing in return
If the Dodgers win in 20, they haven’t lost the trade. The best trades are those that help all sides. The Pirates and Rays both have new management teams but had they stayed the same, does anyone think the old Pirates GM was accepting Bloom’s call after the fleecing they took in the Archer deal? Look up DR 911-07-31-18-MV in the Pittsburgh Police Department Records Room. It’s a report of the highway robbery that was committed by out of state perpetrators from the State of Florida…
Agreed. So much chatter about money but who’s buying Maeda or Verdugo merch??? The money they have to pay out this year for Betts/Price vs Verdugo/Maeda will be made up alone in jersey and other merch sales.
Nothing in return is a really stupid comment.
Mack is 100% wrong as usual. Another bad take.
One guy is Mike Trout
beardedsox.
He and Trout are the top 2 all around players in the game. I’m a die hard Sox fan and know he will be missed. Shoulda payed the man good thing once again the Dodgers help us out of trouble just like 2012!
Hoping this means the Sox win again in 2021…
Red Sox will suck. But congrats on your billionaire owner saving a few bucks..
Vin, you just don’t get it, the team realized to better the farm, they needed to reset the threshold as otherwise their drafting spots would have remained significantly worse, they wouldn’t have gotten as much international slot money and the penalties for signing future free agents would have remained at the worst. Of course, no big market team wants to pay into the tax pool for the other clubs but the priority here was the non financial benefits.
There’s a significant gap between Trout and Betts, and DeGrom fits in it.
You say that now that he’s no longer a Red Sox player. Lol.
How much better really is Betts than Acuna, Rendon, Bregman, Arenado, Altuve, Soto, lindor, Machado, Goldschmidt, Ketel Marte, Tatis, Bellinger, Posey, Torres, Judge, Bogaerts, maybe some others. There is Trout, and then there are a whole bunch of others. I have been a Sox fan since 1953, will always be, and will always appreciate what Betts did as a Red Sox player. But he has over-rated himself if he thinks he is Trout’s equal.
Don’t think he every portrayed himself as “Trout’s equal”.
If he is looking for $400,000,000, he is thinking Trout’d equal.
Negotiating leverage. I was at a mediation a week ago. The attorney representing Plaintiff demanded $3.25m and came with economist’s reports, a vocational rehabilitation spreadsheet, new medical records all trying to take the focus off of who was responsible for the tripping incident if it really happened as it was unwitnessed. Throw enough s#@t against the wall and hope something sticks. After four hours of private meetings with the mediator and even pretending to pack up and leave, the case settled for $1m. At this point barring a catastrophic injury for which he probably has insurance, he knows he’s getting at least $35m x 5 years and probably much more in years if not annual dollars. Since he’s getting $27m for 2020, why tip your hand if you really don’t care where you play in 2021?
Ray.. Don’t be a tool. Mookie wants to be paid. Who doesn’t? Don’t try to paint him as a villain for getting traded. Are you a Bernie loving commie or something?
Very nature! My question was about whether Betts was that much better than all of the others I mentioned. I didn’t say he was a villain, just that he was not being realistic about his relative talent.
Political turd in the pool. How pretty.
Nice classy
Bernie loving commie! YES, I absolutely loved that. Well played Vin.
What about the fact that the dodgers aren’t stealing and tipping signs. All the seasons with Boston he was getting signals about what pitch was coming. He’s going to actually have at bats now lol
It was 2018, because Cora brought it from Houston
To assume any more from Bos is just trying to stir the pot. But I fully believe they used it all year
Even 2018, what exactly happened? We may never know because with Cora already gone, MLB just wants to make sure this doesn’t happen again. I’m still waiting for a class action suit with an attorney representing people who lost money legally betting on games that we’re or seemed to be tainted. Thus is what happens when a league gets into bed with gambling entities.
I’m sad Mookie hadta go. Price I could care less after verbal altercation with Eck he was non grata with Redsox nation.
Yeah, but any team who was going to trade for Betts had to take Price.
Yeah, but any team who was going to trade for Betts had to take Price.
They gave up a decent prospect and Joc for garbage
Joc is a one trick pony. He can’t hit lefties and he isn’t good in the field. He has the swing of a drunken lumberjack and he is expensive. No loss.
His eleven runs saved in the outfield last season say different. He was great in the postseason for the Dodgers and just broke the franchise record for lead off home runs, a record that was previously held by… Joc Pederson. Change your name dude, you’re making Vin look bad..
Citing a “lead off home run record” is silly, as up until 5-8 years ago, the lead off spot was for slap hitters that could finagle their way to get on first and steal bases. Only recently is when some teams starting deploying power hitters for that role, so he literally had no competition for that “record”.
Sure, this past year was by far his best with 36 HR’s, but he hit somewhere in the neighborhood of .120 against southpaws, with only ONE of those 36 bombs coming off said lefty’s. Epitome of an “All or Nothing Platoon Player”… Once Joc gets paid, he’ll be mailing in the rest of his career.
Where does this leave the Red Sox in 2020? Do they have enough for a wild card birth?
Might have to be a Caesarean section
caldo19,
Whose thinking Wild Card. Im thinking WS or bust every year!
They have the offense, depends on the pitching.
They have a shot. The Blue Jays will not be a pushover which hurts whoever is in 2nd place in the AL East.
Mix in a razor Mr Todd.
People still shave?
You will have to shave if you don a Yankees cap.
Dodgers gave up too many good players for really one guy. This deal goes back to the trade for Manny Ramirez. We all see how that turned out. The Dodgers should have went after K Bryant from Chicago cubs. David Price has never pitched in the national league. I don’t know how well he’s going to do. This is the kind of trades the Dodgers have made over and over again. That is one of the reasons they have not won a World Series in over 30 years. Not saying it is the main reason. But they make these trades based on a hunch. And a roll of the dice.
Number, as much as I don’t give a hoot about Price, on a personal note, he will be a good to great performer for your team. Price had a good arm n he’s a competitor. I understand he’s a great team mate n has their backs. His problem with Eck was cuz Eck criticized an outing of E Rod a couple yrs ago. As we know now, E Rod bounced bk after injury to put up great numbers last yr. Anyways, please don’t be down about a Price he will be a great addition, n can pitch in high pressure.
Unlike a Joe Kelly resume.
Not totally seeing the similarities. Manny Ramirez was 36 when he was traded to the Dodgers (as opposed to Betts @ 27)and all you gave up was Bryan Morris and the other LaRoche…Also, I have not seen many cases where a pitcher does WORSE when switching from the AL to the NL
siddfinch,
And both had won a WS something most of the players on the Dodgers havent!.
number1dodger.
Get your eyes checked Betts is top 2 in the league along with Trout. Please Price can pitch in any league especially more so pitching vs some lighter hitting infielders and a pitcher now common. Thanks again for bailing us out of financial trouble like 2012. Im sure you’ll be buying a Mookie jersey in no time!
A hunch? Are you insane? Going on a hunch would have been keeping Verdugo and hoping he works out. Betts is as close to a sure thing as you can possibly get.. And do you really feel the Dodgers have made trades to acquire guys like Betts ‘over and over again’? Machado, Darvish, Wood, Martin, Kendrick, Grandal…. these are the moves that our current FO has made. Some were good, some were average- but our FO has not made a move like this before. 2 MVP’s in the OF.
Number.. Friedman is wealthier, more successful, smarter and better looking than you. You should keep your dumb musings private.
this move is good for all three teams. the Dodgers have a really good chance of winning the World Series in 2020 with this deal but after that they’ll have some problems with that’s probably going to free agency or having to pay him a huge contract which is the downside for them. The Red Sox were able to eliminate uncertainty by getting rid of David Price and Mookie Betts. David Price has had issues over the last few years and Mookie Betts was intent upon going to free agency and would likely command a huge price tag which the Red Sox were not willing to pay. The twins we’re able to upgrade their starting rotation and being a contending team which they are that should make them more competitive although it does hurt them to lose a good young picture of that caliber but the trade-off was that they gave up a great young picture with arm problems to the Red Sox for a good starting pitcher and Kenta Maeda. So the deal was good for all three teams for different reasons or obviously it wouldn’t have been done.
As a Twins fan, from this perspective, I am not really sure this was good for the Twins. Yes, Maeda is probably better than the rookies they have lined up, and Homer Bailey. But it wasn’t a 3rd spot or lower that they needed to fill in a trade, but somehow find a true top of the rotation SP instead. I guess in the overall picture, Maeda is signed for the next 4 years at a relatively bargain rate and Graterol has had arm issues in the past. It’s just difficult to see an arm of that caliber be traded away.
I give the Dodgers an A. They need to win a WS, not just contend. Betts is a generational talent and in that park Price might pitch well.
I give Boston an A – ONLY if they use the freed up payroll to sign Betts next year. If they do that they give up one year of Betts while shredding Price. Pus, they got a great OFer in Verdugo and a great prospect in Graterol.
I give the Twins a D – Maeda will be 32 come opening day and has averaged less than 140 innings the past three years in a very pitcher friendly ballpark, with a staff where they could afford to not start him every five days. Twins gave up a great prospect and I truy hope I’m wrong here because I feel the pain of Twins fans, but I see this trade as being a disaster and more so if Graterol becomes a serviceable big league pitcher.
First time watching one these videos by you guys. I’ve been a follower since this first website launched but never watched these videos! Really cool, good job, Tim!
FYI…that was Jeff Todd, not “Tim”
Lol it says by Tim so I just assumed it was Tim. Thank you for clearing up though.
Unless both Chris Sale & Eovaldi return to form, I don’t see how the Red Sox win more than 85 games this year. While I understand why they needed to make the trade, the ripped the heart & soul out of this team in Mookie Betts. I think people forget just how good of a defensive player he is. He covers more ground than any RF in the game and has a cannon for an arm. They are going to miss that badly in this upcoming season.
While Verdugo is an intriguing prospect, I am very worried about his injury (from which he is still not recovered) and I’m also worried about the entire Red Sox OF batting left handed now. What are they going to do when they face a tough LHP? It makes sense for them to go out and sign Puig now so they have a decent platoon option for one OF when they are facing a LHP.
Boston also needs to find themselves another starting pitcher somewhere. As much as Price rubbed a lot of us the wrong way, there is a BIG hole to fill in their rotation now and I don’t see Tanner Houck or other fringe prospects filling in. Perhaps they will go with an opener every 5th day but that really wears down your bullpen. It seems like the Red Sox are okay with punting the 2020 season (unless Sale & Eovaldi are lights out) and have plans to jump back into the race in 2021.
If Sale and Eovaldi return to form, they’ll be traded to rebuild the farm. This is a reset.
How do you trade Betts for nothing
Yankees should of called the Dodgers months ago to unload Stanton
Yankees never get creative with these kind of deals
Yeah because Stanton and Betts are comparable players.
Dodgers didn’t even want Stanton when he was coming off his MVP.
Yes
A one year rental and a 9 year, market value commitment for a player who hasn’t played a full season in 3 years
Totes the same
Well Mr. MLBNYY fan it wasn’t exactly nothing.
Verdugo is by all accounts a good young player who will be solid obviously not Betts but solid hardly as you say nothing. Also Graterol is anything from an end of the Bullpen stud to potentially TOR arm so yea nothing but thanks for playing.
I’ve never been more confident in a team winning their division than I am with the Dodgers winning the NL West this year. However, come playoff time, the regular season records go out the window.
Kershaw’s post season record is lousy and up until 2017, Price’s was as well. Remember the last time the Dodgers acquired a dominant post season pitcher? (Joe Kelly – 2017 Red Sox). How’s that working out? Better hope Price doesn’t emulate Kelly or we could be looking at season 3 of the LA Bridesmaids!
Two of those “lousy” playoff starts from Kershaw came in the 2017 World Series against a team LOADED with cheaters; it wasn’t just management, every player is just as guilty. It’s pretty disturbing to watch the video of Alex Bregman receiving the trash can “bang”, bombing that pitch for a home run and then going into the dugout to do his cute, 12 year old camera stare. Acting like you’re some big shot with the cameras after CLEARLY cheating your opponent, the game and all the fans is disgusting. Manfred MUST punish the players, as there’s also so much video of Altuve, Springer, Gurriel, Marwin, etc doing the same thing.
Even with their cheating, the Dodgers took HOU to a Game 7. Therefore, Dodgers probably would’ve won that series, giving Kershaw a World Series title. Who knows how his personal stats would’ve been without the cheats, but I’d assume much better. Sad that cheating franchise has tarnished and ruined careers with their pathetic ways…
Good trade for the Dodgers
Price will feast on NL batters and gets away from the Boston market which i believe had soured on him – and vice versa.
Mookie will have another great season on both sides of the ball and likely fall in love with LA. They still have to try to sign him in FA next year, but that shouldnt be hard for them considering the payroll flexibility they have.
OK trade for Boston
The return was OK but at the very least, they made the likely NL WS contender that much harder for any AL team to beat. Seeing as how the Yankees are favored, you could say that Boston found a way to stick it to the Yankees even in a year that they may not be as competitive.
If I were a Boston fan though – Id be pretty upset to lose Mookie. Potential future HOF homegrown player gone for salary relief and a couple players. Who knows though, the RS could make a push for him next year and re-sign him. If that happens then its a great trade for Boston.
Dodgers fan here, but here’s my unbiased opinion as a fan of good baseball, in regards to ONLY the players swapping jerseys from LA to BOS & BOS to LA:
Dodgers get an A Grade. Moving Verdugo hurts, Kenta as well, but whenever the return is a Top 3 position player with five tools, championship experience, a true love for the game and probably the most marketability of any player in the League, it’s a HUGE win (even for one year, although the Dodgers will be right there to resign him). Betts aside, getting David Price as a “throw in”, while having the Red Sox pay for half of his remaining contract is HUGE for the Dodgers. Going from the AL to the NL is a bump in his value, but he’s also going from the AL East and those Little League ballparks that the Yankees & Rays, even Blue Jays, tee off in. The NL West not only has weak opposition, but LA, SF & SD are a few of the friendliest pitcher parks in the game. A healthy David Price is probably the BEST #3 pitcher in baseball, with an extremely high ceiling. In addition, Price is known as a great teammate, has a ton of playoff and championship experience (domination) under his belt and will acclimate to LA overnight based on his personality & the way he goes about things… TWO fantastic gets by Friedman & Co.
Red Sox get an A-/B+ Grade. Sure, it can be tough to understand a grade as such when you trade away the 2nd best all-around player in baseball, but they accomplished everything they’ve been wanting to, while bringing in a stud & potential star in Alex Verdugo, along with one of the most explosive young bullpen arms in the game. I do question why Boston became so obsessed with shedding salary when they’re one of a handful of teams that almost print money based on their popularity. I do understand how killer the Luxury Tax is, but even so, Mookie’s don’t come along very often… Having said this, as a Dodgers die-hard who’s been able to watch Verdugo annihilate the Minors before playing his way into an everyday OF spot in Los Angeles before going down with injury. Simply put, the kid “gets it”. He’s above average at everything on the field. For a young player, his plate discipline is very advanced; rarely strikes out & almost always squares up & hits the ball hard. He’s a great defender with a cannon arm. High end speed that can be coached into swiping 20+ bags a year… If I were to play critic, elite home run power is the only thing he lacks, as was not only exposed in his first full Major League season, but throughout his Minor League career. That said, as a lefty going to the AL East, there’s no better place for him to build that part of his game. To finish on Verdugo, his personality is amazing & infectious. He was beloved by EVERYONE on the Dodgers, always smiling, laughing, playing pranks and having one of a kind style. He’s also quite marketable and the stage of Fenway Park is something he will not be affected by. He’s a gamer with star potential.
Dodgers pick up another pitcher famous for chocking in big games. He’ll fit nicely behind Kershaw. Lol
Another fan who wishes his team was even in the big game
What is being missed with Price is his deal is basically 3/46 now…. replacing the money Rich Hill made (he was on a 3/48 deal)
Hill threw 40 innings last year for 16MILLION DOLLARS
Price’s FIP was in line with Corbin, Flaherty, even Kershaw.
Price is now on a below market deal and Is much better than people here like to pretend he isn’t
I can’t wait for Verdugo to go ghetto on the Paddy Red Sox fans. He is a known hot head and can be lazy on the field. There is a reason why the Dodgers let him go you know. He has already been benched for having meltdowns in the dugout and not running hard to first.
Oh give me a break Mr. know nothing. Yea there is a reason the Dodgers made him available. The reason was Mookie Betts! Get a clue!
Why didn’t the Twins make a separate trade for Maeda? They should have received another player/prospect for Punky Brewster Gateral. It seems the Dodgers & Redsix used the Twins to make their deal.